**GLOBAL GRIND EXCLUSIVE** I'm sorry. That's the place where I need to begin. My feeling of remorse. I ain't never written a blog before, so putting my thoughts down on paper is a challenge - however it's a challenge I must face. I can look a 250 pound linebacker in his eyes at the line of scrimmage and have no fear. But expressing myself when I know that there are millions of people who are so angry with me, and rightfully so, is a challenge unlike any other I have faced before.

What I did was horrendous. Awful. Inhumane. And I've no excuses for my actions. It makes my heart hurt now to think about what I've done. And I'm gonna be real honest, it took a while for me to get to this place.Sitting in a prison cell didn't make me feel remorse. It was meeting so many animal lovers, speaking with them and looking them in their eyes. Staring at them. Looking so deep into their eyes that I began to feel their pain. Allowing that pain to enter into my body is when I started to understand how bad it really was. I have been trying hard to connect with people who feel this pain,because for my whole life I was disconnected from the suffering of animals. And you might say, "come on Mike, how could you do those things to those dogs?" And you're right...Iask myself those questions every day. What kind of person does this? How does a human-being treat dogs or any animal with such pain and cruelty? And the hard part for me is the answer to these questions. Because the answer is ME. And I am trying so hard right now to become a better person, because who I was, I am ashamed of.

Cause see, my whole life has been numb. I was numb to the violence in my community...cause I saw it all the time, ever since I was a child. I mean, how does one grow up in a city that's nickname is Bad Newz? You can probably guess that from the jump, ya' know I've seen some bad things in my life. And football was the only way that I could escape. As a kid, I even used to go out fishing, and most of the times I wouldn't catch a darn thing, but just needed to get away from the chaos every once in a while. So, when the commissioner called my name as the #1 draft pick in the NFL - the first time a black quarterback had ever been chosen as the #1 pick, I thought my life was all good. But, what I didn't realize then, that I have begun to realize now, is that even though I had more money in my pocket, big cars and big houses, I was still numb. And when I say numb, I ain't talkin about not realizing the stuff that was going on around me, it was just like I was living life asleep. However, that is still no excuse for what I did. But let's not forget that there are still hundreds of thousands of young people growing in similar environments and seeing violence at a young age has severe consequences.

Now that I'm trying my best to wake up, I know I have a lot of work to do. And this isn't about trying to win a Super Bowl ring or a MVP trophy...this is about trying to save lives. I think back to when I use to play football and of course I use to see all those kids in the stands wearing #7 jerseys. And I would never want them to look up to the Michael Vick who did all of those terrible things to the dogs. I know where I need to do the most work is with all of the people around the world who continue to fight dogs. Let me be straight forward with y'all: What I did was wrong, and what you're doing is wrong. We must stop dog fighting, and I will do everything in my power to be a voice of someone who has finally woken up from the numbness, and knows just how bad it really is. My mission now is to be a source of service to save many animals. I am working very closely with The Humane Society and will be launching a new campaign shortly. If I had one hope in life, it would be that my actions will speak louder than my words. I know it will be hard to forgive me until you see my sincerity through my actions, but I promise you and I promise myself that that day will come.Lastly, I accept this challenge, not of writing this blog, but of redeeming myself.

-Michael Vick

"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

Ok...don't get me wrong...I'm still against him as an Eagle. I don't really think that he "gets it" yet, but I do feel like this statement is at least better than what he has been saying. I am happy to at least see the word "cruel" in there. I think it also shows that there isn't a whole lot upstairs (this is the best paper blog I've seen )No, there is nothing he can say that will make it right. I just hope that he does come to realize what he has done.

I am not defending him but just hoping that something good will come out of this. Hopefully, he will start educating himself more. He can, like myself, come to learn after looking, listening, and researching what kind of organizatin HSUS is. Many people take what HSUS says because they think and are told they are doing good for animals. I had no clue what HSUS or PETA was all about until I came here. Until facts and resources are laid out in front of you sometimes it is just easier to take things at face value. Do I think he was forced to work HSUS, no but I think he thought it would be a good step to make himself look good. Do I wish he did his research before hand, yes. I don't think he had the time to do anything but jump on board with someone who he thought would make him look better.I guess it is just a dream, but it is my dream and all I can do is hope for the good of the animals.

I will say that I don't agree with what he did, where he is at and the position that he is in now. BUT that is what is happening at this moment. So I choose to think ahead. Nothing can change the past but anything can change the future.

Sitting in a prison cell didn't make me feel remorse. It was meeting so many animal lovers, speaking with them and looking them in their eyes. Staring at them. Looking so deep into their eyes that I began to feel their pain. Allowing that pain to enter into my body is when I started to understand how bad it really was.

I don't believe that he has come within 50 feet of a real animal lover yet. He'd truly be feeling some pain if that was the case.

Someone at the American Thinker posted this and it about sums up my feelings on the issue

“He paid his debt to society” is a detestable phrase. I cringe every time I hear it.I’m not focusing on Michael Vick, a man who delighted in savage cruelty to imprisoned animals and now wants the slate wiped clean. All the beneficiaries of this fictional ledger keeping are criminals. Often they committed more than one crime, diligently trying to avoid discovery. There was nothing in their hearts to make them stop on their own. After being caught they lie. They are given a trial where lawyers can use the generous technicalities of the law to their clients favor and avoid punishment.Trials and sentences are about punishment not redemption. Incarceration is not a bizarre installment plan to pay off a moral balance. That isn’t possible. The crime is not undone. The victims are not uninjured. The effects of crime on the innocent are everlasting.People like to muse about what they would do differently if they had their lives to live over again. A futile exercise. We can’t cancel out what’s been done. There’s no going back other than through our conscience. Our past incorporates into our conscience to determine what we will do tomorrow. We are judged everyday by others and by ourselves. This is what keeps a lot of people from committing crimes in the first place.The law-abiding who are successful as a result of hard work are constantly told they owe a debt to society. Their nebulous debt has no limit, no expiration date. Why should we be less demanding when it comes to criminals?

maberi wrote:Someone at the American Thinker posted this and it about sums up my feelings on the issue

“He paid his debt to society” is a detestable phrase. I cringe every time I hear it.I’m not focusing on Michael Vick, a man who delighted in savage cruelty to imprisoned animals and now wants the slate wiped clean. All the beneficiaries of this fictional ledger keeping are criminals. Often they committed more than one crime, diligently trying to avoid discovery. There was nothing in their hearts to make them stop on their own. After being caught they lie. They are given a trial where lawyers can use the generous technicalities of the law to their clients favor and avoid punishment.Trials and sentences are about punishment not redemption. Incarceration is not a bizarre installment plan to pay off a moral balance. That isn’t possible. The crime is not undone. The victims are not uninjured. The effects of crime on the innocent are everlasting.People like to muse about what they would do differently if they had their lives to live over again. A futile exercise. We can’t cancel out what’s been done. There’s no going back other than through our conscience. Our past incorporates into our conscience to determine what we will do tomorrow. We are judged everyday by others and by ourselves. This is what keeps a lot of people from committing crimes in the first place.The law-abiding who are successful as a result of hard work are constantly told they owe a debt to society. Their nebulous debt has no limit, no expiration date. Why should we be less demanding when it comes to criminals?